CLAIM
A video which shows two politicians thrashing each other is being shared on social media with a claim that the two politicians belong to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and were seen fighting during a party meeting.
The claim, along with which the video is being shared reads, “The broom (AAP Party) meeting was going on and Sanjay Singh beat the Co- MLA with shoes. After that the same MLA thrashed Sanjay Singh well with shoes. The people of Delhi have chosen to rule these monkeys. On the other hand, Kejriwal is bent on making Delhi Pakistan.(sic)”
The video is being shared massively on both Twitter and Facebook.
The Quint also received a query about the same message on its WhatsApp helpline number.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim with which the video is being shared is false. Firstly, the video is from March, 2019. Secondly, it shows the lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thrashing and abusing each other in Uttar Pradesh’s Sant Kabir Nagar.
The two lawmakers — BJP MP Sharad Tripathi and MLA Rakesh Baghel — came to blows during the district planning committee meeting.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On carefully looking at the video, we noticed a poster in the background which read, “Zila Yojana Samiti Janpath — Sant Kabir Nagar” and the poster also had a poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Subsequently, we searched on Google with keywords, “BJP MLAs beat each other with shoes” and came across a video published by Hindustan Times which carried the same visuals.
The Quint had also reported on the incident last March. According to the news reports, BJP MP from Sant Kabir Nagar Sharad Tripathi and MLA from Mehdawal, Rakesh Baghel, got involved in a verbal duel over taking credit for a newly laid road.
After a brief exchange of words, and a series of abuses being hurled, both thrashed each other, with one of them even using a footwear to hit the other, leaving officials and party leaders red-faced.
The video, thus, has nothing to do with the Aam Aadmi Party or Sanjay Singh.
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